NHS Volunteering Programme
We are an NHS practice and offered a volunteering programme for patients to help other patients. This initially started for our own patients but have now expanded this to anyone looking to volunteer.
What are they?
On point – short and make sense. Connect – directly with experts. Right now – either Live or on social media
Why are we doing them?
Research shows that biggest factors for poor health are opportunities for work, education and the environment. We want to do our bit to make a difference
Creating fair employment for all
Together with NHS partners in NW London, Hiyos is offering a jam packed 3 day online programme of NHS work experience, with the opportunity to meet clinicians and administrators and hear their experiences and personal stories, work on projects together, and get a broad and full understanding of how the NHS works and all the different roles within it.
Why are we running this programme?
This is part of NHS Northwest London project to reduce health inequalities. Employment is a major factor for poor health outcomes. So we’re putting together a series of webinars with our partners to give people the opportunity to experience what it’s like working in different areas of the NHS. We hope to show that this results in better health outcomes.
Marmot Review 10 years On – Institute of Health Equity
Research shows for every 10% increase in employment, healthy life expectancy increases by 5 years.
The NHS is the largest employer in England with around 1.6m people, but it’s not just doctors and nurses! There are lots of other clinical and non-clinical roles from paramedics to porters, ENT consultant to estates management. So there’s plenty to choose from, and this course gives an insight into all types of different roles.
The NHS is a fab place to work! Working with talented staff and providing outstanding care for patients, you can be part of a workforce with good career progression and training opportunities. Promotion of diversity and equality is at the heart of the NHS workforce.
NHS plans to recruit 50,000 more nurses, 6,000 more GPs and 26,000 additional clinical roles in the next few years.
Kings Fund
436,000 people volunteered for NHS first responder programme. Volunteering gives new insights, skills and experience.
Workforce
High demand for workers with correct skill mix. Plenty of training opportunities.
Innovation
Opportunities for clinicians and non-clinicians to be involved in digital health projects which are transforming healthcare.
Hospitals & Clinics
Work in variety of clinical settings, in the community. general practice or hospitals.
WHO
Who is the NHS Work experience programme for?
Our programme is for anyone interested in learning more about career opportunities in the NHS and healthcare generally.
Students
University applications require your to have work experience. You are often left to arrange your own work experience which can be difficult to find and be of variable quality. We will group together those applying for medicine, nursing, physiotherapy etc. We will help you with your CV, personal statements and interview practice.
Changing Career / Looking for work
We’ll share how the NHS works and what’s available. We can share ideas on mapping transferable skills. The programme will give you insights to help identify the type of work to apply for and how to get your ideal job.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a chance to give something back to your community, whilst building your skills and having new experiences. We’ll work with you to identify what you want to get out of your role and find the right places to look.
Welcome to all…
We’d welcome applicants from all walks of life and we’ll group those with shared interests. We are particularly keen to receive applications from those with those who are struggling to get work experience such as those from ethnic minority backgrounds and those with disabilities. The only requirement is to be aged 16 or over.
We want to give an opportunity to all.
WHAT
A fun, interactive 3 days where you get to meet staff, others on the programme and work on a digital health project.
| Day 1 | Speaker | Special Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Speaker | Special topics |
| 10:00 | Introduction | The programme & assessments |
| 10:20 | How the NHS works | How organisations collaborate |
| 10:30 | GP | History Taking |
| 10:45 | Practice Nurse | Immunisation |
| 11:00 | Healthcare Assistant | ECG |
| 11:15 | Consultant Psychiatrist | Depression Screening |
| 11:30 | Physician Associate | Respiratory examination |
| 11:45 | Care Navigator | Signposting |
| 12:00 | Lunch | |
| 12:30 | Management | Who does what |
| 12:45 | Clinical Pharmacist | Over the counter Medication |
| 13:00 | Digital Health | The future |
Expert speakers will share a day in their lives and their personal stories along with fun facts. You’ll have the chance to ask questions.
| Day 2 | Speaker | Special Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Consultant Cardiologist | Examining the heart |
| 10:15 | Consultant in A&E | Resuscitation |
| 10:30 | Consultant Surgeon | Robotic surgery |
| 10:45 | Careers Advisor | CV Writing |
| 11:00 | Careers Advisor | |
| 11:15 | Careers Advisor | Interview Skills |
| 11:30 | Medical Student | University Application |
| 11:45 | Group work | Facilitated |
| 12:15 | Lunch | |
| 12:45 | Use of social medial in health | Facilitated |
Share your experience and learn from others on the programme
| Day 3 | Speaker | Special Topics |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Presentations from students | Project work |
| 11:00 | Feedback on Projects | |
| 12:00 | Close |
Interactive and fun with insights on digital health
Wide range of clinicians and admin staff
Project work to apply your learning
HOW
It’s easy to join and we’re pretty confident you’ll enjoy it and will learn lots too…
Sign up – it’s free
It is really easy. Signing up is really easy. We will send you reminders and you can add it to your calendar. You can also sign up to our newsletter. Simples.
Attending online
We promise it will be fun and interactive, so do share your experiences. We have some fanatic speakers who given up their valuable time to share insights, but the people attending will have a wealth of experience too. There will be plenty of time to get to know one another and learn from each other.
Project work
This is a project using social media and webinars to improve healthcare. So we’d like for you to try your hand at sharing what you learn by producing social media posts and a short blog on some interesting things you have learnt on this programme for others. Don’t worry if you are not an expert, we’ll talk you through it and will be there to help. You will work individually and in groups.
Face to face placements
There will be a limited number of face to face placements in general practice and hospital settings after the course.
Research & evaluation
We would like to evaluate the impact of this programme on your health. We are working with our research colleagues to produce a report of outcomes and hope to have publications in journals to share what we have learnt. Please do share your feedback, your responses will be anonymous. Healthcare is changing rapidly, you can help shape it.
Project
Project
We give you the opportunity to apply what you have learnt. This will help you learn communication skills which are essential when applying for jobs in the form of covering letters and personal statements.
There are two aspects. The first is making a video post and the second is writing a blog post about one of the sessions that you found interesting. We have attached some guidelines for you to follow along with top tips. Try and share a descriptive personal story. We will discuss some of the best examples on the final day and will also post the best blogs and posts on our website and social media.
Practice storytelling, has been around since the dawn of time and is a powerful way of communicating your message. Be descriptive, describing senses and your feelings – but don’t over do it. Stories make it easier for others to remember are engaging and help with understanding. Others can either relate to your story or you can help teleport them to your world. They must be authentic, concise and don’t be afraid to use a little humour. Finally, you don’t have to share your own stories you can use stories of others and make analogies. Give it a try. It takes a bit of practice and run them by a critical friend.
Blog post template
And finally, here is a blog post template that you may want to use to structure your content. Pick a theme and weave it into your blog story.
Learn more about roles below
